It’s official: Australia’s data centre boom will not be solely powered by renewables.
At the National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the federal government softened its stance on using coal and gas to power energy-hungry data centres.
Initially, the government said it would require new data centres to rely on renewables, backed up by batteries and gas. However, this has changed. Its new standards, set to be legislated in early 2027, leave room for some jurisdictions to use fossil fuels instead. Queensland and the Northern Territory have welcomed this shift.
So what are these new standards? And how do they fit into Australia’s energy “clean energy” transition?
Desperate for data
